“Nie Tian, it seems to me that Auden and Anguz came to the Domain of Nether Heaven through that teleportation portal,” Pei Qiqi said with a grim look in her eyes. “We need to destroy it as soon as possible. Otherwise, as soon as we enter that Demon grand monarch’s flesh aura, he will learn what we’re doing and send his clan members here to intercept us.”
Hearing this, Nie Tian said, “What are we waiting for then? Let’s head over there and destroy it.”
After a moment of pondering, Pei Qiqi turned to Qi Lianshan and said, “Nie Tian and I will go by ourselves. You just wait here with the others. We’ll come back as soon as we finish the job.”
Having cast Void Travel several times in a row, Qi Lianshan still needed time to heal his internal injuries. He nodded hesitantly and said, “Be careful, Miss Pei. Your safety is more important than anything.”
“Don’t worry,” Pei Qiqi said, “I know what I’m doing. We’ll be fine.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Yang Fan, Lou Hongyan’s Saint domain subordinate, offered himself for the job.
Pei Qiqi shook her head. “There’s no need for that. It’ll be easier if it’s just the two of us. We’ll be able to come back quicker if we find ourselves in danger.”
She could cast a forbidden magic with the Heaven Nourished grade spatial treasure in her possession and get the two of them out of any dangerous situations they might get into. None of the others would be able to withstand the deadly spatial power it would bring. Therefore, anyone who went with them would become a liability.
Huang Jinnan understood this better than anyone else. With a bitter smile, he asked Lou Hongyan, Yang Fan, and the others not to join them in this task.
Seeing this, Pei Qiqi cast Void Travel. She and Nie Tian parted with the others for the time being.
FIZZ! FIZZ!
A spatial rift came to form in the dark starry river.
Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi flew into it.
The moment they came out of the other end of the spatial tunnel, Pei Qiqi’s expression flickered with astonishment, her eyes fixed on what lay ahead. “What... What’s that?”
Just now, her irregularly shaped crystal had only allowed her to sense the existence of the teleportation portal and the unique spatial fluctuations it was emanating, but nothing else.
She hadn’t expected there to be something else besides the teleportation portal.
Nie Tian was also shocked by what he saw.
In front of them was a sea of rolling blackish-violet Demon qi.
An incredibly enormous demonic plant could be seen blooming in the depths of it.
Upon a closer look, it had numerous flower buds, all of which were black, and looked like the eyes of devils.
Swaying slightly in the rolling Demon qi, the sinister-looking flower buds seemed to suddenly capture Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi’s auras, as they all turned to face them.
For some reason, as soon as they did, both Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi were struck by a peculiar feeling that their souls were being stirred by some power.
Pei Qiqi didn’t dare to make any rash moves. Instead, she raised her guard and prepared to evacuate at any moment. “The teleportation portal is in the depths of this sea of Demon qi. But I have no idea why there’s such a huge demonic flower here. They should only exist in Demon realms.”
Standing on the Voidheaven Boat, Nie Tian took out the Star Behemoth bone without saying a word.
Holding it, he felt slightly more confident.
“Humans...” A cold laugh echoed out from the depths of the sea of Demon qi.
At the same time, all of the strange flower buds that looked like eyeb.a.l.l.s shook, as if they were laughing too.
All of a sudden, the laughs grew extremely sharp, hurting Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi’s eardrums. The two of them had to summon their soul power to contend against the scary, ear-piercing laughs.
A slender figure appeared in the depths of the Demon qi. It grew clearer and clearer as it rapidly flew closer.
It turned out to be a young man with a handsome appearance.
Pei Qiqi was taken aback. “Is he a human?”
Nie Tian frowned and said, “He doesn’t have purple hair and pupils, so he isn’t a Demon. And he doesn’t have a crystal between his eyebrows, so he isn’t a Phantasm. But he has the purest Demon aura surging inside of him. He clearly practices the Demons’ incantations and spells. And the power within his blood, bones, and internal organs originates from the Demon qi.”
The handsome young man in front of them looked like a high-tier Demon upon first glance. His graceful manners gave Nie Tian a strong sense of danger.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Han Yu. I used to be a human too, but not anymore technically.” The young man said in a soft, relaxed voice, while sizing Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi up with an intrigued look on his face. “You’re here to destroy the teleportation portal, aren’t you?”
“What if we are?” Nie Tian said.
“Sorry, I’m charged with the task of guarding it,” The young man, who referred to himself as Han Yu, said with an apologetic expression. “The grand monarch treats me well. Since I’ve agreed to take on this responsibility, I won’t allow anyone to do anything to it.”
With a cold face, Pei Qiqi said, “You’re a human. Why do you work for the Demons?”
“Because I’m no longer a human,” Han Yu said with a warm smile. “Besides, thousands of humans have died at my hands. Even if I want to, the human world won’t take me in. Also, that flower I rely on to practice cultivation can only grow and develop its strength in Demon realms.
“I already consider myself a Demon.”
As he said these words, the sea of Demon qi behind him suddenly grew restless. Like a vast blackish-purple curtain, it surged towards Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi.
The huge demonic flower was carried over by the surging sea of Demon qi, its numerous roots swaying in it.
Enormous like a mountain, the demonic plant was hundreds of meters tall, with countless long branches flapping around. The whole plant was even larger than an ancestral-awakened high-tier Demon.
Numerous eyeball-like flower buds suddenly shone with dark purple light, as if it had the magical ability to possess people.
Even though the demonic plant and the sea of Demon qi were still some distance from them, Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi felt as if their souls were being channeled by a mysterious black hole and could leave their bodies at any moment.
WHOOs.h.!.+ Nie Tian immediately summoned the Spirit Pearl.
Floating over his head, the s.h.i.+ny pearl emanated cyan light that formed a profound soul defense against the demonic flower’s soul-channeling effect.
Nie Tian let out a sigh of relief.
Sensing the unfavorable situation, Pei Qiqi hastily flew the Voidheaven Boat backwards at full speed. At the same time, one Ethereal Sword after another flew out, slas.h.i.+ng towards Han Yu.
As they did, they appeared and vanished from time to time, as if they were s.h.i.+fting between different s.p.a.ces, and when they all appeared at the same time, they would pierce into Han Yu’s long neck.
“The Voidheaven Boat and spatial power incantations... This must be a disciple of the Void Spirit Society, and not just an ordinary disciple.” With a smile, Han Yu pointed in the air a few times with his finger, then loud clanking sounds came from the flying Ethereal Swords, as if they were stuck by heavy hammers.
The originally perfectly straight Ethereal Swords were suddenly bent.
Pei Qiqi let out a m.u.f.fled groan, feeling that the power she had fused into the Ethereal Swords had somehow been neutralized.
She had no choice but to withdraw them right away.
“Nie Tian, that man isn’t easy to deal with!” Pei Qiqi exclaimed softly.
“Nie Tian? Where have I heard that name before...?” Han Yu, the half-man half-Demon, pondered a few seconds with a puzzled expression before suddenly remembering something and saying, “Oh! You’re the seventh Son of the Stars recently acknowledged by the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace. I spend all of my time practicing cultivation. It’s been many years since I made any contact with humans...”
He fell into a trance, muttering to himself, as if he was drifting away in old memories.
However, the sea of Demon qi continued to spread towards Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi at a speed that was even faster than the Voidheaven Boat.
At the same time, the enormous demonic flower’s numerous branches suddenly turned into resilient devil hands that reached towards Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi.
As they did, a strange force was born within the flower buds at the end of the branches.
Pei Qiqi’s expression flickered. “My soul is being bound by a strange force, and it’s stopping me from casting Void Travel! Keep him busy, Nie Tian! So that I can find an opportunity to cast my spell!”
“No problem!” Nie Tian bellowed as he lifted the Star Behemoth bone and brought it down with great force.
CRACK!
A branch was severed by the bone that was sharp like a sword.
Han Yu’s expression flickered with astonishment. “What divine weapon is that? As the plant that ranks number one among the most deadly demonic plants, this Demon Eyes Flower has branches that are tougher than divine metals. But now, its branch was so easily severed... Even most Spirit Channeling grade treasures aren’t this sharp.”
Even though that branch was severed from the demonic flower, it didn’t drift away after the Star Behemoth bone slashed through it.
Instead, it reattached itself to the plant. A few seconds later, not even the slightest mark could be seen, as if it hadn’t been cut in the first place.
Apparently, the Star Behemoth bone could sever its branches, but couldn’t stop them from growing back together with the demonic plant and a.s.suming their original state.
Han Yu grew increasingly amazed as he fixed Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi with a measuring gaze. “Why am I sensing flesh auras that carry unique wonders? Are they both hybrids?!”